Book I of The Protector
by Anmras
Summary: The adventure of a lifetime kicks off when Legolas is accused for murder. The only ones who believe him are Thranduil and his beloved Elenest. There's only one way to escape his fate... to leave Mirkwood and the elves he loves.
1. Chapter 1

This is gonna be a long, episode-after-episode story that I'm not quite sure I'm gonna finish. Depends if you like it or not (And I'll only know if you review, wink wink!)  
  
Anyway, the big picture is that Legolas leaves Mirkwood to Rohan and finds out the extreme poverty there. He develops enemies, friends and there will be a LOT of twists and action later on, don't worry, it's not all leggymance and crud, I just wanted to try something new and I don't think it turned out that great... let me know (wink wink!)  
  
So here's book one and let me know if you want to see a book two!  
  
.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
A thin cloud of fog appeared in front of Legolas's mouth whenever he had exhaled. He looked up at the great palace through the treetops. The palace was nothing but a great oak tree with long thick branches stretching to the sky with spots of light from the windows. The leaves and twigs acted as thick roofs that not even three feet of snow from the Misty Mountains could penetrate. They stayed there all year round and never fell. The majesty of the palace awed the travelers inside as they would dance and feast to the music of the woodland realm, flutes, strings and laughter could be heard in the courtyard where the elf prince stood in a heavy coat that covered his arms and had pockets he could shove his hands inside. He wore dress trousers that hung over his dancing slippers. He shifted his weight quickly from one foot to the other, trying to stay warm in the cold night.  
  
'I love the night before the first snow.' said a voice behind him. Legolas turned to see an elf standing in a stone archway infested with vines that carried dried blossoms that had dried but still held their magical silver color. The lady's eyes were shaded with a light blue and had bright colored lips. Her hair was tied back in a bun with a curly mane that stretched down to her waist. She smiled as she approached him, her silver slippers poking out from underneath the golden hem of her gown.  
  
'Me too.' said Legolas with a smile as full and beautiful as hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Legolas could see goose bumps on her arms. 'Here.' he said. He pulled off his coat and set if over her shoulders. She smiled and kissed him sweetly on the lips. Legolas no longer needed the coat to feel warm.  
  
'So, here I am.' she said, gazing lovingly into his eyes.  
  
'And here I am.' replied Legolas.  
  
'What are we going to do?' Legolas smiled and pecked her on the lips once more.  
  
'How about we head up to me room, I'll grab some food, and we have our own little feast?' she smiled and took one step closer, filling the gap between their bodies.  
  
'Sounds great.' she said. Legolas hugged her around the waist and they kissed passionately for a few moments. She laughed and they started to walk away from the courtyard.  
  
Legolas started when he saw another shape in the archway. He stared in horror and the mangled body that stood before them. Blood was pouring over his hands that clutched his chest. Elenest shrieked with terror and clutched Legolas's arm. The elf squinted at them as though he couldn't see clearly. He grabbed onto the archway for support.  
  
'Help me...' he said quietly before he collapsed. Blood spurted from a gaping hole in his chest that spilled his organs out before them, including his beating heart. Legolas took a step forward, but Elenest pulled him back.  
  
'No, wait!' she cried. 'Don't touch him!'  
  
Another elf appeared in the archway. An older woman who was out of breath and wounded as well. She was clutching her arm that had stopped bleeding but still had a red gloss to it.  
  
'Alamar!' she cried as she knelt beside the body. 'Alamar! Please, don't die! Don't leave me alone!' she shook his shoulders with her good arm. His head rolled, but there was no movement of his chest. The heart on the ground stopped beating. Legolas felt like gagging.  
  
'You!' cried the elf, looking up at him. 'You killed my husband! You took him from me!'  
  
'What?' Legolas asked holding up his hands.  
  
'You killed him! You killed him!'  
  
'I never touched him!'  
  
'You bastard! You killed him! You killed him!' she repeated as she advanced. Elenest stepped in front of Legolas.  
  
'Calm down! We'll take you to the palace and-'  
  
'Out of my way, tramp!' Legolas was stunned. He had never, ever heard an elf utter that obnoxious word before. They always had such cunning ways of compliments and insults, but this woman's madness drove her into the ugly verbal abuse of low placed men. 'You killed him!' she pushed Elenest to the ground and threw herself into Legolas. Legolas was knocked back against the hedge wall.  
  
'I didn't kill any-' he was cut off by the woman slapping him across the face. Stars appeared behind his eyes and numbness ceased his cheek. 'Wait-' another ugly slap. Legolas grabbed the woman's hand and stuck his foot behind hers. He pushed her back and she spun around into the hedge. They had switched places and Legolas held her hand away from him and her other at her side.  
  
'Would you listen to me?' he cried.  
  
'Legolas! What in Valar's name is going on here?' Legolas looked over his shoulder to see the captain of the guard and several recruits standing there, swords drawn and faces fixed on the body on the ground. Legolas opened his mouth to speak but was cut off again by the woman still against the hedge.  
  
'He killed my husband! He murdered him!'  
  
'I never!' snapped Legolas, facing the woman once more.  
  
'Legolas, what happened?' Legolas let go of the woman who immediately darted to her husband's side again.  
  
'He killed him! He killed him!' she cried. Legolas shook his head.  
  
'How could I? Do you see a weapon on me?' one of the guards advanced and began to pat his arms, legs and back. He grabbed something and pulled out a small dagger. There was fresh blood on it.  
  
'Explain this!' he demanded as the woman continued to cry hysterically. Legolas stared. He knew he hadn't dressed with any blade underneath his tunic and was positive he hadn't used one since training that afternoon.  
  
'I've never seen that before!' he cried with his hands up. 'I swear! I didn't kill anybody!'  
  
'He killed him! He killed him!' one of the guards was trying to pull the woman away but she fought. He held her and they disappeared through the archway.  
  
'Seize him!' commanded the captain. Another three guards appeared and stared.  
  
'Sir, Legolas would never have done this!' one insisted.  
  
'He's a prime suspect. He must be questioned!' the captain was throwing them fruitful excuses. The guards had no choice.  
  
'But I was with him the whole time!' cried Elenest. 'I met him here not ten minutes ago!'  
  
'That elf was attacked possibly over thirty minutes ago! You didn't know what he was doing before then, did you?' Elenest glared at the guard.  
  
'Elenest, you can go.' said Legolas as guards put his wrists and ankles in shackles. 'Go home. I'll send a message as soon as I can. Okay?' Elenest just stared at him. 'Elenest?' she looked once more at the guards then gave Legolas a little kiss.  
  
'Don't be too long.' she whispered before she rushed off through the archway. Legolas stared after her with a worried expression.  
  
'C'mon Legolas.' said the captain. 'You're father will want a word with you.' Legolas hesitated and one of the guards gave him a little push. They, too, headed through the arch. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Legolas could feel all the eyes staring at him as he was lead across the entrance hall. They had entered the palace through the main gates and were making their way through the crowd towards a heavy iron door with a bolt. He kept his eyes downcast until he couldn't stand it any longer. He looked up to see one woman staring at him in shock, her mouth open and her hand covering her chest. She looked absolutely aghast.  
  
But I didn't do anything! he thought.  
  
Finally, they reached the door and Legolas stepped through silently. He didn't have to be in the room to know that people still were staring at them. They descended the stairwell ahead of them. The only sound Legolas heard was the clanking of the chains that imprisoned him. When they reached the lower landing Legolas sighed.  
  
'I swear on my mother's grave I didn't kill anybody.' he said as they rounded a corner into a long hallway lined with cells.  
  
'Either way, we have to take these precautions.' said the captain as he pulled a ring of keys from underneath his cloak. He unlocked the closest cell and let the others push Legolas in. Once he was inside, they took off the shackles.  
  
'We'll get your father here as soon as possible.' said one of the guards as they closed the door and left Legolas alone in the dark.  
  
*  
  
Legolas was stirred awake by the sound of his father's voice. He didn't remember falling asleep, but found himself lying down on the cot in the corner of the dark cell. A soft but tarnished blanket was draped over his lower half. He sat straight up at the sound of footsteps. The cell was completely dark so it must've been late at night. The only light was in the corridor ahead of him where a torch crackled and glowed.  
  
'I don't believe this!' muttered Thranduil as he appeared. 'Legolas!' they embraced each other through the bars. Legolas could feel the icy cold chill of the iron block between them.  
  
'I didn't do it, father!' he insisted. Thranduil pulled away and looked into his eyes.  
  
'I believe you, my son.' his hazel eyes twinkled with devastation and regret. 'I don't care what proof is there, I know you're as innocent as the day you were born.' he cast a glance towards the guards. 'Let him go, he didn't do anything!' he demanded. The captain of the guard was there as well, along with the two others who had seen the dagger be pulled from Legolas's hidden sheath.  
  
'We can't do that my lord. Under your law-' he tried to explain, but Thranduil cut him off angrily.  
  
'Forget the law! This is the prince of Mirkwood we're talking about! He is honorable and loyal and above suspicion if not anything else! This accusation is a threat to the Mirkwood Empire. It will not be tolerated while I rule this realm!' the captain was careful to be polite with his protest.  
  
'Sir, under your laws, we are to arrest any suspects to murder. Legolas is prime and there is nothing proving his innocence.'  
  
'What about Elenest?' asked Legolas through his cage. 'Elenest was there the whole time! She'll tell you I didn't do it!'  
  
'You were the only ones in the courtyard.' argued the captain with a snarl. 'We're taking Elenest in for deep questioning. You plead your innocence so it may be that she framed you.' Legolas felt his face flush as his fists clenched on the bars. 'It is most likely since she is not of royal blood she may try to frame you for murder so that she could take the throne.' Legolas suddenly found his hand around the captain's neck.  
  
'Don't talk about her like that!' he cried, glaring at the guard. 'EVER!'  
  
'Legolas, let go of him!' Thranduil grabbed his wrist and twisted it off the captain's neck. Legolas grasped the bar with it, feeling the white- hot anger from his heart boiling into its powerful grasp. The captain breathed hard, leaning against a guard for support.  
  
'This will not testify well for him, my lord.' he growled before turning and running from the dungeon. Thranduil clutched his fist and screwed his eyes shut. His sudden sense of kingship was gone and he just looked like a man in the middle of a raging wind. He cried out and punched the stone wall. He grunted for a moment before returning to Legolas's side. They were both full of unspeakable rage that threatened rash actions.  
  
'I'll get you out of there, Legolas.' he said to him. 'I won't let you stay here longer then a day, no matter what it takes.' he turned and headed up the corridor to the staircase. The two guards followed. Legolas sat back down on the cot and leaned against the wall.  
  
His thoughts were flushed with negative endearments. ~I'll never have the same reputation after this.~ he thought. ~People will always be looking over their shoulder at me. Their eyes will be filled with caution and worry and shame.~ Legolas had heard stories about kingdoms with murderers in the royal family. Their citizens were poor and their cities falling apart. The children grew up in filth and greed. Legolas couldn't stand seeing a helpless being under the fist of a grown man. He couldn't let that happen to his kingdom. How could this have happened?  
  
He could already see the faces glaring at him from underneath dark hoods. He could see a child coughing and bleeding on a threshold. He would try to help them, but they would run away crying and screaming in terror. He would eye a scrawny woman with nothing but a filthy torn cloak covering her while she stood waiting for a desperate elf to come along and for her to make her move just to feed herself. A skeleton is hidden in a dark alley where rats infest the bins where thin meat and ugly fruit rot. The eyes stared angrily. All the people stopped walking. The just watched him.  
  
Staring. Dark eyes piercing his mind and soul. Legolas felt their watch. He suddenly felt as though all his rights were gone. He wasn't free. He wasn't living in privacy. It was as though he wasn't anything but a filthy rag with no use or purpose.  
  
Legolas awoke to himself perspiring. There was a small amount of light piercing the corridor. He was on the floor and breathing fast.  
  
~Just a dream.~ he thought. ~Only a dream.~  
  
'Prince Legolas?' Legolas's head turned towards the voice. It was a young elfling no higher than his waist with tear of parchment in his hand. His face was flushed and he was out of breath.  
  
'Are you lost?' he asked. Children weren't meant to be working in the dungeon, so that was the only reason he could think of. The child shook his head, his locks swaying.  
  
'No sir! I have a note from your father!' Legolas eyed him as he stood and reached through the bars. He could feel something heavy in the bundle of parchment.  
  
'Why couldn't he come and tell me himself?' he asked as he opened the wad of paper and glanced over it. His eyes widened at the messiness of the characters, obviously hurried. A key was lying over them and he quickly removed it to read the words.  
  
'He said it says in there! I have to go!' the young boy ran back out of the cellar as Legolas's eyes darted over the page.  
  
~Legolas, there's no time to go into detail but you can leave now! There is a mob outside the palace ready to break in and kill you! Use this key to go out the back way and take the back allies out of town. There's a horse waiting for you by the palace gates along with provisions. When I manage to settle things down and prove you didn't kill anybody, I'll send for you. You can't stay in Mirkwood. Get out as fast as you can and stay in hiding until you hear word from me! It may take up to five years to convince everybody, but don't come back until it's all cleared up. Write letters and sign them as the name of Fermanir, a friend of mine in Rohan. I'll find some way to contact back but don't ever say where you are! That elf murdered was a prince from Eriador. I can only protect you by getting you out of here, so leave right away! Don't worry, we will see each other again, but on much better terms.  
  
P.S. Don't stop for any farewells, not even Elenest. If she knows, then others will stop at nothing to give their justice and vengeance. Burn this note when you're safe.~  
  
Legolas stared at the note, read it again, then looked at the key.  
  
~It's advice, not a demand.~ he thought to himself. ~But he's never given a bad quote before.~  
  
He shoved the key in the paddock and turned the key. 


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the replies to the reviews for this story that I forgot earlier! Sorry guys!  
  
@ ElvenRanger13 - Of course, thought, Legolas is innocent! The question is who would do something to Legolas as mean as that? Hmm.  
  
@ Deana - Don't worry, Legolas escapes unharmed! Well. maybe not quite! The baby was a split-second decision and it may change Legolas's life forever when. IF he returns!  
  
@ Elvenbabe - It's that whole complicated 'I-have-a-reputation-and-can't- change-the-law-just-because-he's-my-son-or-I-will-lose-the-throne.' Thing. BTW, I could never see Thranduil as a meanie. Maybe a bullie sometimes, but never a meanie!  
  
@ SavvyLaur - Thank you! I try to vary my writing a lot so as not to bore you! (PS, luv ur nick!)  
  
@ FencingBabe7 - R you the same as FencingBabe07, or is that just a MAJOR coincidence? Believe me, that won't be as gory as it gets. not by a LONG shot!  
  
@ Lea-and-Randir - Sorry, but Elenest's part is already reserved, but maybe there just might be a second love for our main character? Who knows? PS, I don't even know how to change oil, so I doubt I'm a grease monkey! Lol!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Legolas blinked as he entered the light. A small archway lead into the back alley where nobody but a elf asleep against a young birch walked. He approached carefully and swiveled his head this way and that, trying to eye someone hiding in a corner.  
  
Finally, when his face could no longer be seen by the sleeping elf, he ran out of the alley towards the castle wall. He could hear the elf awakening behind him but didn't stop or look back. He didn't think he noticed him and halted right up against the wall.  
  
From here, he could see Elenest's home. A tall tower with silk curtains fluttering in the window. He saw a figure move by it and his heart suddenly exploded in his chest.  
  
He couldn't leave for years without seeing her face one last time. She meant far too much to him for that to happen. He hurried away from the wall and sprinted towards the pillar.  
  
He entered quietly, praying that her parents weren't home. He found the staircase and hurried up towards her chamber. The stairs were made of a thick wood that creaked quietly underneath his feet. His ears and nose were strained to sense any approaching servant or family member. Finally, he reached her room at the height of the tower. He opened the wooden doors carefully and looked around.  
  
She wasn't there.  
  
'Elenest?' ~Had they already taken her to the palace? Where is she?~ 'Elenest!'  
  
'What?' she moaned as she sat up from her four-poster bed. Her eyes snapped open when she saw him.  
  
'Legolas! Did they release you?' she threw off the covers, revealing her sleeping night gown with thin straps and a short skirt. She ran over to him and embraced him. 'How did you get out?' she looked up at him, her eyes full of joy and wonder. That's what he loved so much about her. Her lack of care for what other people thought and the way she loved him back. They were perfect for each other, almost as though they were born with the same purpose: to be with one another.  
  
'They...' he started, gazing into her eyes. He sighed. 'They didn't release me.' he said. 'I escaped.' Elenest's smile faded.  
  
'Escaped?' she asked. 'Why? How?'  
  
'I can't explain right now, and I wasn't supposed to come see you...' he drifted off, lost in her eyes for a moment.  
  
'Why not? Who told you?' she asked, her arms tightening around his waist.  
  
'I was helped to be let out by a friend.' he said quickly. 'A very good friend. He told me not to say any good-byes, but I had to come see you one last time.' Elenest's face grew tight with worry.  
  
'Where are you going?' Legolas shook his head.  
  
'I don't really know.' he sighed. 'But I couldn't leave without seeing you one last time.' he gently caressed her cheek as her eyes grew beady with tears.  
  
'But, I don't want you to go!' she said in a quiet, high pitched voice. 'I don't want you to leave us!' Legolas shook his head.  
  
'I don't want to leave you or the baby either, but I have no choice!' he said. 'My father is risking himself to save me, and I can't deny his request when the situation is this...' he stopped when she shut her eyes and looked down.  
  
'Come back!' she said solidly. 'Promise me you'll come back!' Legolas gently lifted her chin and gazed in her deep pools of eyes, so full of love and loss.  
  
'Not even my own death could keep me from your side.' he whispered. They kissed one last time before the departure.  
  
'Elenest!' a pounding sound came from the open doorway. Legolas turned to see the shadow of an approaching elf. Legolas looked into Elenest's eyes one last time before running towards her balcony window.  
  
With a fantastic leap, he leapt over the railing into a nearby tree that grew on the other side of the kingdom wall. He scurried down towards the trunk and descended swiftly to the forest floor. He could see two palace guards standing at the small gate with a cobblestone path leading towards it. He could see no horse anywhere.  
  
When something pushed him almost out of the shade of the tree to his exposure, he stiffened. He turned slowly to see a great snout. It was a black steed with a saddle made by man and several swiftly packed bundles. He could feel the guard's gaze on them now. There was a cloak hanging over the saddle. As fast as he could he threw it over his shoulders. He could hear the guards approaching behind them, their armor clinking almost silently.  
  
Once the clasp was done he threw up the hood. He could feel them now, their feet stepping lightly on the grass and not leaving any mark behind.  
  
He mounted with a great swing of his leg and kicked the horse's flanks. He shot out of the trees with a swish of the leaves. The horse's step was quick, but heavy against the ground. After steering a straight path ahead across a bridge over the river and into the forest, he looked back.  
  
"When I think back on these times,"  
  
"And the dreams we left behind,"  
  
"I'm be glad that I was blessed to get,"  
  
"To have you in my life."  
  
~I will come home!~  
  
"When I look back on these days,"  
  
"I'll look and see your face."  
  
~Nothing can keep from you...~  
  
"You were right there for me."  
  
"In my dreams I'll always see you,"  
  
"Soar above the sky."  
  
"In my heart there'll always be a place for you,"  
  
"For all my life!"  
  
~...Or the baby.~  
  
"I'll keep a part of you with me,"  
  
"And everywhere I am there you'll be."  
  
"And everywhere I am there you'll be."  
  
Legolas turned and looked at the dark path ahead.  
  
"You show how it feels,"  
  
"To have the sky within my reach."  
  
"And always will be glad,"  
  
"For all the strength you gave to me."  
  
~I'll never forget us.~  
  
"Your love made me make it through,"  
  
"Oh, I owe so much to you."  
  
"You were right there for me."  
  
He could still feel her wet tears on his hand.  
  
"In my dreams I'll always see you,"  
  
"Soar above the sky."  
  
"In my heart there'll always keep a place for you,"  
  
"For all my life!"  
  
A tear of his own managed to drip and fall in the dust made from the steed's gallop.  
  
"I'll keep a part of you with me."  
  
"And everywhere I am there you'll be."  
  
"'Cause I always saw in you my light,"  
  
"My strength!"  
  
"And I want to thank you now for all the ways,"  
  
"You were right there for me."  
  
~You were right there for me.~  
  
"You were right there for me..."  
  
"In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky."  
  
"In my heart there'll always be a place for you,"  
  
"For all my life!"  
  
"I'll keep a part of you with me."  
  
"And everywhere I am there you'll be."  
  
"And everywhere I am there you'll be."  
  
The castle gate was gone, along with Thranduil, Elenest, and the unseen child.  
  
"There you'll be..." 


End file.
